Water in Engine

[Steel Guitfiddle]

So, its spring time in Ohio, and that means nonstop rain and snow...
After a few weeks of cold rain here, we finally had some nice weather, so I went for a cruise in the Jeep. Afterwards, I checked under the hood at the oil and air cleaner and whatnot. Noticed the telltale signs of water in the oil...that nice gray and it was all over in the air cleaner assembly, it had come out of the PCV. Wasn't sure what to think at first, but the next day it was raining, I looked under the hood again and realized water was dripping off the hood by the cowl, onto that lip, and then down on the the valve cover, and then into the engine around the PCV. So that calmed down my fears a little...at least I knew where the water was coming from. But I didn't know how much water got in there. So I drained out the oil, and didn't notice an increase in volume, so I figured it must not have been too much water. Put in new oil and I ran it again a little bit, probably put about 20 miles on it. Nothing bad has happened, but the gray goop is still there. And I'm starting to think it may have been a bad idea to run it without looking into things a little more.

So my question is, now that its been run, and the water can't simply be drained out anymore, is there any good way to flush out the engine and clean out the mess of gray goop thats in there? (Without tearing it apart) That stuff is tenacious. I'm hoping that running it again hasn't compromised anything, although I think that if any damage was done, it would have been when I ran it before I noticed the problem in the first place. And it doesn't miss a beat, I haven't noticed a difference in performance.

Also, now that I know I have water coming in when it rains, has anyone else had this problem with water coming in under the hood? I can't keep it in a garage or anything, so next rain we have, I'll be in the same boat again. Does anyone have any ideas on how I could prevent water from coming in there? My quick fix will be stuffing a rag over the valve cover to soak up any water that comes in. Like I said, it didn't seem to be a lot of water, and it rained a lot, so it had a lot of time to build up. But it sure made a mess, and a potential for huge damage to a nice engine.

Thanks

 

[Cheepjeep85]

Well I don't think its done any damage, but the only way you'll fiind that out for sure is to drop the oil pan and pull a rod cap or main cap and look at the bearing. My advice to you is to change the oil again. Drive it some more and change the oil again. Yean its pricey, but its the only way to flush the engine good, without using some sort of chemical which might possibly damage the seals in your motor, especially if it has a lot lof years and miles on it. As far as the leak you found that's a new one on me, I've never had that problem. You might try getting a new tighter fitting grommet for the pcv valve. try some rtv around the grommet when you reinstall it. Also some cheap weather seal between the hood and cowl might do some good, you can pick up rolls of the stuff at lowes, home depot, or ace hardware.

DROOOID2

 

[scooterbe]

if you drained the oil and no water came out of the oil pan, your proly ok like cheapjeep said....change the oil a few times. if the goo is only on the top, might pull the valve cover and clean the worse of it out. as long as you def dont have a blown head gasket, i think a few oil changes and youll be fine. if you had water in the oil pan and you drained it, you shouldve noticed it as the water would have came out first.
is it the pcv that the water is getting by or is it the rubber hose that goes back to the breather and no hose is connected? near the back of the valve cover is a plastic piece that a hose is supposed to be attached to that goes to the breather. you may need a new grommet and/or the hose, if missing, may need to be put back on (or something in order for water to not get down it).

 

[scooterbe]

by the way, if its only rain water and you can stop it from getting in and do a few oil changes...you should be fine. ive sank my motor under water before...got it back to the house, pull the plugs...drained the oil, replenish wth fresh oil and filter, turn it over to push water out of the cylinders, put in a set of plugs and ran fine. ill do a couple more quick oil changes and have had no issues. not that i like to do that (swamp the motor), but in my younger days, did some dumb stuff . been lucky cause i couldve done some bad things in the motor. hope you get it figured out

 

[CJ]

~~~ Noticed the telltale signs of water in the oil...that nice gray and it was all over in the air cleaner assembly, it had come out of the PCV. ~~~

Whiteish oil color is a sign of oil in the water, the thick gray stuff in the air cleaner and PCV is typically from condensation. Pull the valve cover and I bet there is a boat load of the stuff in the cover and valve train. It is very common from a large build up of condensation. You sound OK to me...

 

[Steel Guitfiddle]

Yea, i guess it was grayish-white...looked like sausage gravy without the sausage, or pepper...
But yea, I think its fine., condensation is a definite possibility. I do need to take off the valve cover though, as I can see its all gooped up in there just by looking in the oil fill.
I hate to pull to valve cover though, as it doesn't leak one bit. Once thats off, will I need a new gasket in there? Or do you think it will seal up alright with whats on there? There seems to be some debate as to the "right way" to seal up a valve cover. Its an aftermarket aluminum one, and I know it seals one way or another, because it doesn't leak now. Anyone's $.02 on that would be much appreciated.

Thanks again!

 

[phyrph0enix]

No matter what gasket you get at the parts store, the thing that causes more leaks than anything is overtightening!

Try and use a 1/4" ratchet when installing and snug it up. Keep in mind everything expands when it heats up and that will pinch a VC gasket! Tighten to the torque specs... And there's usually an order to do it in.

Hope it helps